Chapter 35 - Return
The days passed quickly and soon enough team eight could see the walls of Konohagakure in the distance. It was about noon of the fourth day since they had left Takigakure, and Kiba was looking much better than he had been when they started their trip.
"Oh god.." Hinata mumbled. "I don't know if I can do this shishou.." She whispered to Hayate.
"Relax, everything will be ok." Hayate comforted her.
He had told her about Jiraiya needing to explain to the council everything that had happened. Hinata understood the need to inform them, but she had been really hoping to be able to put it off as long as possible. She wasn't an idiot though, normally they most likely wouldn't care about her personal life enough to bring it up in a council meeting, so this had to be because of Fū being a jinchūriki.
"How do you know that!?" Hinata asked, irritated. "You keep saying that, but you have no idea!"
Hayate just sighed, this had been about the tenth time on the way over that Hinata had started working herself into a panic attack.
"What if he hates me now? What he's disgusted with me!? I can't give him grandkids so what if he makes Hanabi the heiress? What if she doesn't want to be the heiress and then she blames me!? Oh god I hadn't even thought about Hanabi's reaction!" Hinata started freaking out, talking faster over time.
She turned around and started to run in the opposite direction, Hayate quickly catching her by the hood of her jacket.
"Where do you think you're going?" Hayate asked, holding her by the hood with one hand, and pinching the bridge of nose with the other.
"Back to Takigakure! I'll come home eventually! I just need more time!" Hinata said, trying to pull herself out of his grip.
"Not a chance. Are you really this much of a coward? I thought my apprentice was made of sterner stuff than this." Hayate asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Shishou.." Hinata looked up at him hurt.
Kiba and Shino had just kept walking, they had been putting up with this shit for four days and at first they were supportive. They had been reassuring her and helping her build up confidence, but now it was just getting silly. They still supported her, they were just going to do it from a distance.
The group eventually reached the gates, the guards on duty giving a strange look at Hayate who was carrying Hinata under one arm. She was just hanging limply there, a dead look in her eyes.
"Returning from our mission." Hayate told the guards, handing over their pass.
The guards studied their pass and confirmed their identities before one of them spoke up. "Alright you're all clear. It seems there's an order for you to report directly to Hokage-sama upon arrival.
"I'm aware, thank you." Hayate nodded to him, taking back their documents.
The guards waved them in and the group passed through, entering Konohagakure for the first time in two weeks. Hinata just watched as the gate grew further and further away from them as her teammates increased their pace into a run, heading straight towards the Hokage mountain in the distance. It would take about an hour to get there, and Hinata could feel the weight in her stomach increase with every step.
As they started approaching the outer edge of the village proper, Hayate looked down at his apprentice. "Do you think you can walk now, without trying to run off? Or do you want to be seen like this by the whole village?" He asked her.
"You can put me down, I won't run away…" Hinata sighed, getting onto her feet. For a split second she thought about using shunshin to escape, but she had learned from the events with Fū that running like that rarely helped her. She'd reserve it for dangerous situations and when people tried to get her to do work she wasn't required to do.
"Good girl. Come on, we'll go see Hokage-sama, then you can go home and see Hanabi." He smiled slightly at her.
"Alright.." Hinata nodded, walking silently along with the group into the outer market.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the academy. Hinata was pacing back and forth, trying to gather all the courage she had. "Ok, I can do this! It's simple! It's just Jiraiya, he won't care! He probably won't even say anything about it! Oh, who am I kidding… I spent six months with the man, he's almost like a crazy ojisan to me at this point. It's probably going to be the first thing he brings up."
"You can enter now." The pretty receptionist smiled at them. It seemed like Jiraiya had replaced most of the staff when he first took the position. Hinata was sure it wasn't a coincidence that everyone working for him now happened to be an attractive young woman.
"Thanks." Hayate nodded to her, leading the group into Jiraiya's office.
Jiraiya was sitting behind his desk grinning when they walked in. His eyes met Hinata's first and she instantly turned beet red, causing Jiraiya to laugh heartily. "I see you all arrived safely, I'm glad." He finally said, stifling his laughter.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. The return trip was, thankfully, uneventful." Hayate responded.
"Well, I already received the report from you a few days ago. Has anything changed?" Jiraiya asked Hayate, looking over to him.
"No. All of the information remains the same. Shibuki-san is still planning on arriving here a few days before the chūnin exams begin, and he'll be bringing Fū with him as one of the genins participating in the exam." Hayate reported dutifully.
"Very good!" Jiraiya grinned. "I'd like to offer you all my congratulations on a job well done. Having a successful A-rank mission under your belts while you're still genin is something you can be proud of! There are still plenty of chūnin that haven't even completed an A-rank mission yet!"
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Shino bowed his head slightly.
"Alright, why don't you all go turn in your missions and head home to rest. If I need you for any reason, I'll send for you. Good job, all of you." Jiraiya said, waving them out of his office.
Hinata looked dumbstruck, being let go just like that. 'That's it? He's not going to say anything to me? He doesn't care? Or is it that he's waiting to get me alone? What's going on?' She thought to herself, as she walked numbly out of his office. She kept expecting to be called back in, but then the door closed behind them. That was when she realized she really got out of there without any interrogation.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Hayate asked, looking at her. "Go with Kiba and Shino to turn in the missions. It should be a D-rank, C-rank, and A-rank this time."
"Yes, shishou." Hinata said, still in disbelief as she walked over to the mission assignment desk with her teammates.
After the group turned in the missions, they started counting out and splitting the money between them, making sure to give Hayate his share as well. They had each made more money from this trip than they had from all of their D-rank missions combined, and not by a small margin. They each pulled in over 220,000 Ryō, which Hinata noted to be about the equivalent of 2.2 million Yen.
"Alright guys, I'm heading home!" Kiba said, excitedly. "Hinata if you have to, just come to our house. You can stay as long as you'd like." He patted her on the back. "I'm sure everything will be fine though."
"Thanks Kiba.." Hinata smiled weakly at him.
"I'm heading out too. Good luck." Shino nodded at Hinata, before walking away as well.
"You need me to go with you?" Hayate asked her.
"No! I can do this!" Hinata said, in a sudden burst of bravery. "I'm heading out too, shishou. Thanks for everything!"
"Alright kiddo, I'll see you soon. Remember, we're taking tomorrow off, so there's no need to go to the training grounds, though I doubt you'll listen to me…" Hayate shook his head. His apprentice really was a training maniac. She didn't know what to do if she wasn't moving her body.
"Got it. Bye shishou!" She waved at him, running off into the village.
Hayate thought about it for a moment, before activating his tōton jutsu and following after her. He just wanted to make sure no problems arose. He wouldn't forgive himself if something happened and he wasn't there for her.
Hinata ran all the way to her house. She only stopped when she was outside her front door, her feet suddenly not working. She used her byakugan, looking through the walls of her house. 'Otousan isn't even here. Hanabi's the only one in the house and it looks like she's preparing dinner. Ok! I can do this!'
Hinata took a deep breath and walked inside, taking off her sandals in favor of her fluffy, pink bunny slippers she kept by the front door. "Hanabi-chan! I'm home!" Hinata called out, hearing a happy squeal coming from the kitchen.
"Oneeeesaaaann!" Hanabi called out, sprinting towards the front door. She threw herself into Hinata's arms, causing Hinata to laugh as she almost fell backwards from the impact.
"Heya girl, how are you?" Hinata asked her little sister, smiling fondly at the girl in her arms.
"I'm good! Otousan said you'd be coming home soon, but I figured you'd end up walking in here late into the night like you normally do!" Hanabi said, hanging off her sister as Hinata walked into the house.
"Did.. did otousan say when he was getting home?" Hinata asked her, walking over to her room.
"Sometime late tonight." Hanabi responded, letting go of her sister. "He's been really busy with work recently. 'Getting ready for the chūnin exams' he said, but it seems like he's been pretty stressed the past few days."
Hinata grimaced. "Thanks Hanabi-chan. Why don't you go finish dinner before it burns. I'm gonna take a bath."
"'Kay~" Hanabi said, running back to the kitchen.
Hinata sighed, dropping her bag on the floor and fishing out pajamas from her closet. 'Oh well.. I'll think about everything later. I'm just going to relax and enjoy being home for now.' She headed off to the bathroom, humming a tune and trying to forget about her worries.
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Hiashi walked into the house late at night, he had been in council meetings almost every day since the report about Takigakure and the new chūnin exam attendees came in. He was mentally exhausted and just wanted a drink and to relax for a while before he went to sleep.
As he was taking off his shoes, he noticed that Hinata's pink bunny slippers weren't where they usually were by the door. Her sandals were there in their place. 'Hinata's home?' He smiled despite the exhaustion he felt.
Hiashi walked towards her room and opened the door. Hinata was fast asleep, curled up under her blankets. Hiashi smiled again, walking over to kiss her on the head. "Welcome home, Hinata-chan." He whispered, petting her hair for a second before turning around to leave the room.
"Mmm? Otousan..?" Hiashi heard Hinata mumble out right before he reached the door.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Hiashi turned around to look at his sleepy daughter who was rubbing at her eyes.
"Mhmm.." She sleepily grumbled. "It's okay though.."
"I'm glad you got back safely Hinata-chan. Get some rest, we can talk tomorrow." Hiashi said quietly, smiling as his daughter pulled her blankets up higher and snuggled into her pillows.
"Mhmm.." She muttered again, still half asleep.
Hiashi could tell she was tired, usually after being woken up in the middle of the night, she'd be wide awake and alert to the possibility of an attack. It seemed though that her exhaustion won out tonight; she was back asleep in seconds.
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Hinata woke up the next morning feeling refreshed after a night sleep in her own bed. She pulled herself out of bed, and walked towards the kitchen. 'How late did I sleep in?' She thought to herself, smelling the scent of breakfast having already been cooked.
"Good morning sleepy head." Hanabi giggled, looking at her sister's bed head.
"Morning Hanabi-chan, otou-" She froze, staring at her father that was sitting at the table next to Hanabi, eating his breakfast.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, looking up from his food. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale." He walked over to her and held his wrist up to her forehead, frowning. "You don't feel like you have a fever though…"
"Ahh, I'm fine! I'm fine!" Hinata said, blushing and taking a step back.
"Alright then.. If you need to, go back to sleep for a while. You have the day off, right?" Hiashi frowned a bit, but went back to the table.
"Yeah, I do.." Hinata gave him a bit of a strange look. 'He's acting normal. Is that a good sign? Does he not care, or is he in denial..? Should I bring it up?' Hinata walked over to get a plate of food, sitting down across from her father.
Hiashi looked up again. His daughter was studying his face, giving him a strange look. 'Yeah, something's off about her. She's giving me the look she gets when she thinks she's going to get into trouble. Did something happen..?'
"Do you want to talk to me about something? You're looking at me a bit strangely." Hiashi carefully asked his daughter.
Hanabi just looked over at her older sister and tilted her head.
"Um.. did.. Did you hear about the details of my mission..?" Hinata asked him, testing the waters.
"Ah, is that what you wanted to talk about? I was going to wait until later, but we can talk now if you'd like." Hiashi said, smiling at her. "I heard about everything. Good job! Fighting and defeating a chūnin missing-nin by yourself! I'm proud of you, and your okaasan would be too!"
"You did what!?" Hanabi asked, looking at her in disbelief. "What's even the point of the chūnin exams then!? Doesn't this prove she's already at that level?" Hanabi asked her father, looking over at him.
Hinata's brain was overloaded from the conversation. This was not going the way she expected. 'He's proud of me? I mean yeah, I am pretty amazing and talented for having defeated that whip bitch, but what the hell? He said he heard all the details. What's going on here!?'
"Not necessarily." Hiashi said, answering Hanabi's question. "One fight won't decide that. There's variation in skill levels among chūnin, so there's no real telling what the strength level was of the person she fought. From what we gather though, she was a well-known kunoichi from Amegakure, but her reputation could be over-hyped. Ah, not that I'm trying to take away from your achievement Hinata-chan." He added quickly, smiling over at Hinata.
'Hah..?' Hinata just stared at him incredulously.
"Oh, I get it." Hanabi said, nodding. "Still, good job oneesan!"
"Thanks.." Hinata said, not sure what to do or say at the moment.
"Ah, I also heard about your new friend! Fū-chan was it?" Hiashi said, teasing her a bit with a grin.
Hinata had stared intently at her food, face instantly blushing, as soon as he said the word 'friend'. She couldn't see his face, so she had no way of telling that he was grinning at her. 'Here it comes..' She felt a knot form in her stomach, as she prepared herself for the worst.
Hanabi noted her sister's strange reaction to her father's words. 'Why is she blushing? Oh? Is this? This is the same look Kō used to get when we talked about Izumi-oneesan! Oh-ho, good job oneesan! I'm rooting for you!'
"She should be coming for the chūnin exams, right? You should invite her over for dinner when she arrives in the village, I'd like to meet her." Hiashi said casually, before returning to his food.
"Huh..?" Hinata looked up at him in surprise. This wasn't what she expected. 'That's it? "I'd like to meet her?" That's it..?'
"What? Isn't that alright? You're not embarrassed of us are you?" Hiashi laughed.
"No.. I mean, that's fine, but.. that's it? You're not going to.. yell at me or anything..? You're not angry?" Hinata asked him, still looking shocked at his reaction.
"Why would I be angry? I think you're a bit young to be in a relationship, but I trust you to make the right decisions." Hiashi looked a bit confused, and slightly hurt. "Did you really think I'd yell at you?"
"I.. I thought.." Hinata started crying. "This whole time.. I thought.."
Hanabi looked at her sister in shock. 'What's going on? Why is she crying..?' "Oneesan..?" She asked quietly.
Hiashi stood up and walked around the table to his daughter to give her a hug. Hanabi didn't know exactly why her sister was crying, but she joined in on the hug as well.
"Shh, don't cry.. Why would I be angry with you? You and Hanabi are my pride and joy." Hiashi said confidently, as Hinata cried harder.
She could feel her stress melting away, and was happy, but she couldn't stop her tears. She had just been so anxious about her father finding out. For years, she had dreaded this moment, and this is his reaction? She wasn't prepared for this.
"Come on, quit crying." Hiashi encouraged her, rubbing her back. "You're the Hyūga clan heiress! You can't cry this easily, right?" He laughed a bit.
"I.. I'm still the heiress..?" She asked in a weak voice.
It was Hiashi's turn to be shocked. "Why wouldn't you be? Did you really think you'd lose your birthright over something like this?"
"But.. I won't ever have kids.. The family line.. The clan rules state that I have a duty to.." She sniffed out.
Hiashi snorted. "Fuck the clan rules. I'm the Head of the clan, right? I'll talk to the elders, everything will be ok."
Hinata choked out a laugh. She never in her wildest dreams thought her father, who was such a traditionalist, would say something like that.
Hanabi blinked at her sister in confusion. "What does having children have to do with anything? Why won't you have any?"
Hiashi choked a bit. "Hanabi-chan, it seems I have to have a conversation with you later.. Or maybe your sister..?" He glanced down at Hinata hopefully, he had already had that awkward talk with one of his girls about two years ago, he wasn't looking forward to having to do it again.
"Coward." Hinata said jokingly, rubbing at her red eyes. "Fine, I'll talk to her, but you owe me." She pinched Hanabi's nose. "I'll explain everything to you later."
"Nghh!" Hanabi snorted out, sweeping away her sister's hand. "Talk about what!?" Hanabi felt left out of the conversation, she didn't know what the two were talking about.
Hinata just laughed at her little sister's indignation. "You'll find out tonight. I'll be going out for a while, but I'll try to be back before dark."
"Alright, fine.." Hanabi said, walking back over to her seat. As long as her sister was feeling better, she was happy.
They finished breakfast shortly after, Hiashi leaving to go to more meetings soon after. Hinata took a bath and got ready for the day. She wanted to go visit some friends that she hadn't seen for a while. She felt much lighter as she skipped out of the house, she hadn't been this stress-free in a while.
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"Izumi-oneesan!" Hinata called out, hugging her friend. "I'm back from my mission! How are you?"
"I've been good! How'd the mission go? You were gone for quite a while this time." Izumi smiled at Hinata. Kō was away on a mission recently and she had been pretty bored. It was good to see her friend again, although Hinata was more like a little sister to her.
"It was pretty incredible actually! I have so much to tell you!" Hinata chatted away excitedly. Izumi was always easy to talk to. They had bonded a lot over the years, and Hinata felt like she could tell her anything.
Hinata followed Izumi inside her house, and they sat down at her table drinking tea. "Alright first off, you know we had to escort the village head of Takigakure right?"
"Yeah, I remember you telling me that." Izumi nodded.
"You'll never believe it, but Takigakure was attacked right after we arrived! We were given an A-rank mission to defend the village since their jōnins were all away on a mission!" Hinata started explaining everything that happened. She didn't leave out any details, enjoying the different emotions that showed on Izumi's face. She always had the best reactions, never hiding the shock or surprise.
"Ohhh! Fū-chan huh~?" Izumi teased. "Tell me about her! What's she like?"
"She's really pretty to start, but she's actually a bit of a tomboy. She isn't afraid of anything!" Hinata laughed, happily talking about her new friend. "When I first met her, she was captured by the enemy shinobi and was getting whipped by some bitch with anger problems. She just kept shouting insults at her, ignoring the pain."
Izumi sat there with a wide grin listening to Hinata go on and on about Fū. She laughed at Hinata's problems with not being able to talk to Fū, and died laughing when Hinata told her about Kiba's betrayal and her subsequent revenge.
"So she's coming for the chūnin exams!?" Izumi asked excitedly. "Obviously you have to introduce us, I need to judge her for myself."
"Sure!" Hinata nodded happily. "We'll be having dinner at my house when she gets here, you can meet her then. But I'm warning you now! No awkward questions, no teasing, and definitely no embarrassing stories!" Hinata warned her with a serious face.
"Would I do that?" Izumi asked, with a sly grin.
"Yes. Yes you would." Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Consider this a warning."
"Ohhhh? You're pretty brave to be threatening me. Don't get so cocky from defeating some random chūnin!" Izumi ruffled Hinata's hair. "I reserve my right to embarrass you in any way I'd like, thank you very much."
"Ughh. I already regret inviting you." Hinata mumbled, moving her head away from Izumi's hand.
"Don't be like that." Izumi laughed. "I haven't forgotten all the teasing you gave me and Kō!'
Hinata grimaced. She knew she wasn't going to be getting away easily.
The two of them enjoyed a couple hours catching up. Hinata learned that the village had been in a state of excitement over the upcoming exams and merchants from all over had been pouring in, trying to reserve the best possible locations for their stalls. It was still about four weeks away, but it was going to be a large event, drawing in thousands of people. The exams were always a good way for a village to show off their young talent, and the finals especially drew in a large crowd at the stadium.
"So, what are your plans for the rest of the time you have before the exams?" Izumi asked her, munching on a cookie.
"Shishou said we're going to be focusing on training for our remaining time. He doesn't want us going on any missions outside the village between now and the exams. We made enough money this time that we don't have to worry about doing any D-ranks for a while, not that money was an issue for me anyways." Hinata shrugged. "I finally mastered the tōton jutsu, so shishou is going to focus on teaching me the kage bunshin no jutsu and mikazuki no mai."
"How's Kiba doing now? You said he was hurt pretty badly, will he be okay for the exams?" Izumi asked, concerned.
"He should be fine. I know he was visiting the hospital today to get checked out, but it shouldn't be an issue. He'll still have to take it easy for a while yet though. He's unhappy about having to focus on ninjutsu training in the meantime. He's much more of a physical fighter." Hinata explained to her. "He feels like he's going to get left behind. Shino has almost mastered the tōton jutsu as well, and he said something about trying to breed a new type of insect before the exams. Apparently one of his Kikaichū mutated or something when we were in Takigakure."
"Oh? What was the mutation." Izumi asked in interest.
"I don't know. He says it's a surprise. We might have to fight against each other in the finals, so he's being pretty secretive about it." Hinata grimaced. "I really hope I don't have to fight him. I'm not looking forward to getting attacked by a massive swarm of beetles." She shivered, thinking about all those little creatures swarming over her body.
Eventually Hinata and Izumi finished up their conversation as Izumi was assigned to guard duty at the village gate. Hinata said goodbye and set off once more into the village. She was going to check on team seven. It had been a while since she last saw Sasuke and Naruto and was looking forward to seeing how far along they've come in their training.